FG awards StarTimes on completion of digital TV for 1000 Nigerian villages
The Nigerian federal government has awarded StarTimes, the Chinese pay-TV company a certificate of satisfaction for the successful completion of its digital TV project for 1,000 Nigerian villages.
The project launched on January 14 enabled each of the 1,000 selected villages in Nigeria to receive two sets of solar-powered projector television systems and a set of integrated 32-inch solar digital TV terminal systems. The projector-based television system allowed viewers to watch at least 21 satellite channels free of charge, including news, films, sports and religious events, and various other programs
In addition, in each village in Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, 20 families receiving television with free 20 sets of direct broadcast satellite terminal systems. A total of 20,000 households in rural Nigeria benefited from the project.
Commenting on the project, David Zhang, President and CEO of StarTimes Nigeria, told reporters that the achievement was a significant milestone in the exercise of digital television service in Nigeria.
“Over the past year, we have gone across the country in the different states, working with local leaders and communities to successfully implement this project. We have experienced the different cultural aspects of the country, and all we have to report is of a warm welcome, cooperation and goodwill. It is a true testament of what is achievable with when there’s cooperation between governments.”
At the same time, the project has garnered high praise from villagers and top government officials. Odebunmi Dokun, a member of the Nigerian parliament and chairman of the national parliament’s information committee, called the project “investment to the people because it concerns the masses and enables them to connect to the digital world”.
The project supported by the Chinese government is based on one of the resolutions of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation of 2015, during which the Chinese government had committed to providing satellite TVs for 10,000 African villages. As a result, StarTimes was commissioned to carry out the project across Africa.
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